BMTC’s fleet crosses the 7,000 mark as e-buses exceed 20% of vehicles. With 1,568 e-buses under GCC, 2,500 conductors recruited and new routes to suburbs and Metro feeders, daily services and ridership are surging.
Bengaluru’s public transport is electrifying in more ways than one. The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) has expanded its fleet to over 7,000 buses, with electric buses now accounting for more than 20% of the total, meaning one in five buses on city roads is electric.
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Under the Gross Cost Contract (GCC) model, BMTC operates 1,568 e-buses through private players, and officials say 200 more e-buses, including 120 AC models, will be inducted soon. Recruitment of 2,500 conductors, fresh inductions and rising demand have pushed scheduled services above pre-Covid levels.
Before the pandemic BMTC ran 6,190 scheduled services a day (each schedule can include multiple trips). That figure fell to 5,313 in 2020-21 amid the Covid slump. Recovery has been gradual: last financial year the average was 5,871 schedules daily, and today BMTC is operating over 6,200 schedules as crew strength improves.
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BMTC reports increased demand for suburban and peripheral connections. It is complementing Metro expansion with feeder services and running express routes to Doddaballapur, Attibele, Devanahalli and Nelamangala, along with popular dedicated services on NICE Road and added runs linking Metro stations on Hosur Road. Officials note that when Namma Metro reaches a five-minute frequency, BMTC will need even more buses as feeders.
Currently BMTC runs over 61,000 trips daily, covering more than 11.9 lakh km, and brings in over ₹7 crore in daily revenue. Ridership, helped by schemes such as Shakti, climbed past 40 lakh last financial year and now stands at 44 lakh, a clear sign of commuters returning.
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